From Town & Country Magazine, May 11:
In the past, lipstick sales have risen when the economy dipped—but with the masks of the COVID-19 era, is eye makeup due to take over?
Coined by the chairman of Estée Lauder, Leonard Lauder, the "Lipstick Index" is a phrase that has come to represent the (perceived or real) buying power of women in times of economic strife. The concept is simple: when the economy is shrinking, women divert their purchasing power towards smaller, less pricey items to get their luxury fix. Case in point: lipstick.There has always been a comfort in the ritual of slicking on a lipstick before you leave the house. It's the final step before one faces the world with the help of a punch of bright poppy or a rich burgundy, each lipstick bullet a treasure that you carry along with you through your daily business. So it's really no surprise that perfectly shaped tubes of creamy, pigmented goodness are what people have reached for in trying times past.In recent years, however, lipstick has become more ubiquitous, with the comeback of ultra-pigmented, matte formulations—whether in liquid or traditional bullet form—and the resurgence in popularity of lip gloss after its dramatic fall from grace in the middle of the first decade of the 21st century.If you reduced the last five years of beauty trends to a single hero product, it would be lipstick (with highlighter as a close second). But with the current economic situation and the necessity of lip-obscuring safety precautions in the midst of a global pandemic, will the famed lipstick index still stand?It's entirely possible, given the everyday ubiquity of masks that cover the nose and mouth, that the trend will move to enhancing the eyes instead. If your pout must be covered in public, what better way to still treat yourself to a little daily luxury than to embellish those poetic windows to the soul?....
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*See for example:
As we've mentioned, due to budget cutbacks we've had to combine some
previously free-standing subject areas e.g. here, accounting and
fashion....
As mentioned in "IRAN reacts to U.S. President's Comments On Colin Kaepernick By Launching Missles While North Koreans Chant ‘Death to Trump’ Over Steph Currey Dis":
Due to threatened budget cutbacks we are considering consolidating our politics, sports, national security and fashion coverage....
Well, the cutbacks weren't just a threat, departments are being combined, which is why you've seen posts on the St. Louis Fed's FRED clothing line, 3D printed couture and such stories as:
European Bankers on Top of The League Tables For Fashion Sense
Barney's New York Introduces a $375 Antifa Jacket
This Father's Day, #Boycott Dolce & Gabbana....
...in this $245 #Boycott Dolce & Gabbana t-shirt:
So, unfortunately for patient reader, the trend continues as the powers that be decree the cat video pivot now has to be combined with something as well. So here's strutting the catwalk. I am so sorry....
